Arc takes up a battle ready position. “Come on then! Let’s go!”
A van driving by suddenly stops and pulls into the parking lot. A man and women get out quickly with cameras and a microphone.
“Looks like that tip was good, Miss Moore!”
“Right! Sometimes news just lands in your lap! Let’s get some exclusive footage!”
They hurriedly set up. Hugh calls out to Arc over his earring.
“Sir! Civilians behind you!”
Arc turns his head momentarily. “Oh boy. The media. I’ll try my best to keep these guys away from them.”
“We’ll help, sir! Where’s Miss Lily?!”
“She’s safe, thanks. But this just got a LOT more complicated. Stay on your toes.”
The cameraman stands next to his van and points to Minerva.
“Minerva Moore here with Channel 7 News. I’m coming to you live from Farburg’s own Roberto’s Pizza where a fight has broken out. Are you there, Tom?”
The news anchor back in the station comes over her earpiece.
“I hear you, Minerva. What’s going on over there?”
She turns and gestures to Arc and The Riders.
“It looks like Angel Grove’s Hero of Light has come to take care of this town’s gang problem as well.”
“He did pretty well against the Shards, all right. But those guys look quite a bit tougher than what he’s faced before.”
“We’ll have to wait and see how this situation unfolds, Tom.”
Arc turns his gaze back to the gang members. “Let’s get this over with. I have stuff to do tonight other than waste time with you clowns.”
“Get him boys!”
The bikers rush toward Arc. He turns around, grabs one of their bikes, and throws it at them knocking a few gang members back. The leader’s face turns white with fury.
“MY BIKE!!!”
Arc shrugs. “Still want to do this?”
“Now more than ever, punk!”
“Have it your way.”
Arc lunges forward. Grabbing two biker’s heads he knocks them together before pushing them aside and advancing. A huge man with fists the size of hams comes at him.
“Watch it, sir!”
Xenos nods. “That guy looks big enough to hurt even you!”
“Agreed.”
Arc ducks and counters with a mighty blow to the biker’s gut. He doubles over, the wind knocked out of him.
“The bigger they are…”
Arc jumps and knees the man in the face. He falls backwards unconscious.
Viktor frowns. “Sir! It looks like you’re stopping traffic.”
Arc dodges another blow. “What? But I’m nowhere near the road.”
Rose scans the monitors before her. “People are slowing down to watch! Some are even stopping and getting out!”
Arc turns to catch a glance behind him as he kicks an opponent in the face. “Great! More people to worry about!”
Cherry calls out. “Do you think any of them will help you, Arc?”
“I sure hope not.”
A small crowd forms to watch the spectacle as Minerva continues her news broadcast.
“And yet another biker falls to our town’s hero!”
“Looks like he’s doing pretty well out there.”
She motions for the cameraman to focus on the Gang Leader.
“Right, Tom. But their leader certainly doesn’t look very happy about it.”
The gathering crowd cheers as Arc fells yet another thug with a powerful right-cross. The remaining conscious bikers fall back to their leader.
“No more playing around, boys!”
He reaches into his leather jacket and pulls out a club. The other members do the same, pulling out chains, crowbars and other various melee weapons.
“Looks like things are escalating here, Tom! This just became a VERY dangerous situation! We’ll keep broadcasting for those of you at home in Angel Grove as long as we can though!”
“Be careful over there, Minerva. Gang violence is a very unpredictable thing. Any sign of our Hero’s partner?”
“No, Tom. It looks like he’s on his own tonight.”
Arc looks at all the weapons before him. “So, you guys want to up the ante, huh?”
“You’re going DOWN!”
Arc removes his cloak and stores it in his magic ring in one swift motion to reveal his armor.
“Good luck with that.”
The leader laughs. “There’s still dozens of us, and ONE of you!”
“WOAH! Minerva, what is the Hero of Light wearing?!”
“It looks to be some kind of heavy plate armor, Tom. I’m guessing he was wearing that at the apartment fire as well.”
“That would help explain how he made it through that inferno. It looks very resilient.”
“I’m no expert, but that armor’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!”
“Well, hopefully he knows how to use it. I don’t see a weapon anywhere on him though. And what happened to that cloak he was wearing? Did it disintegrate?
“You’re guess is as good as mine, Tom. One moment it was there, the next it wasn’t.”
Arc points at the leader. “There’s still time for you and your gang to turn tail and run.”
HAH! Even with that trash can on you’ll still feel pain! Not very smart of you to bring a fancy suit without a weapon, idiot!”
Arc chuckles. “Funny you should mention that.”
He reaches for his ring and pulls out the Spear of Righteousness.
“The Hero of Light has just seemingly pulled a weapon out of thin air, Tom!”
“Any idea where it came from?”
“None whatsoever! But I believe this fight is going to get out of hand very quickly!”
“Any local authorities on the scene?”
“There hasn’t been so much as a single strobe or siren since we arrived.”
Arc stares down the gang. “So, we doing this or what?!”
“Get him!”
A man with brass knuckles comes at Arc. He takes a mighty swing. Arc knocks the fist away before giving him a swift kick to the chest. Looking to the gang Arc taunts them.
“Next.”
Another thug charges forward with a chain over his head. Swinging it at Arc, it wraps around his spear. The punk grins.
“GOTCHA!”
Arc shakes his head. “No, I got YOU!”
He gives his spear a mighty tug. The gang member flies toward him and meets Arc’s fist head on. He falls to the ground unconscious.
“It appears even these burly bikers are no match for our town’s hero, Tom!”
“Sounds like he’s really showing them whose boss, Minerva.”
“That he is! I don’t think this gang is going to last too much longer against him.”
Arc shakes his head. “You guys ready to give up? Or are you thirsty for more?”
Another biker charges at him with a club Arc blocks the blow with his spear and counters with a fist to his assailant’s chin. Looking down at the club Arc brings a boot down on it hard, smashing the weapon to splinters. He looks up as another ganger charges him with a crowbar.
“Come on!”
As the man brings the crowbar down Arc grabs it, kicks him in the gut, and sends him flying toward his companions. Looking at the crowbar in his gauntlet a moment Arc takes it in both hands and bends it in half before throwing it at a nearby post. It lands neatly against it”
“A ringer!”
“Woah! Minerva, did he just…?”
“Yes, Tom. That crowbar bent like it was made out of rubber!”
Three thugs charge him at once, all wielding clubs. Minerva looks over.
“I think our hero may have his hands full with this lot, Tom!”
“Do you think he’ll be able to pull through?”
“If what I’ve seen holds true, those bikers are in for a world of hurt.”
Arc plants his feet firmly and awaits his attackers. As they swing Arc throws his spear high into the air and quickly calls forth his Magic Blades. In moments his assailant’s clubs are sliced to pieces. Retracting his blades Arc reaches up and catches his spear. Using it like a baseball bat he knocks back all three with a single blow.
“What was that light, Minerva?!”
“The Hero appears to have some kind of energy weapons concealed in his gauntlets, Tom! What it is and how it works is anyone’s guess though!”
As the trio falls to the ground some distance away the remaining gang members run over to their bikes and speed away. The leader glares at Arc.
“You won’t take me down so easily!”
He runs over to his own bike and starts the motor. Arc waves as the man guns the engine and peels out.
“See ya!”
Suddenly the leader does a U-turn and points his headlight directly at Arc.
“You may be strong! But I doubt even you could stop several hundred pounds of mechanical horsepower!”
He revs the motor a few times before letting off the brake. The motorcycle flies toward Arc at breakneck speed. Cherry calls out to him desperately.
“ARC! You have to MOVE!”
“Trust me, Cherry.”
As the bike nears, Arc Blinks to one side and holds his spear out. He catches the leader squarely in the face, knocking him backwards off the motorcycle.
“That was…”
Rose screams into her headset. “THE REPORTERS!”
Arc whirls around to see the bike sliding across the pavement toward the news van. He Blinks between the pair, shoving the cameraman safely out of the way. Arc then grabs Minerva and throws himself to the side. The motorcycle crashes into the van, demolishing both vehicles.
“Are you alright, Miss Moore?”
“I… um… what happened?”
Arc stands and helps Minerva up. “That crazy biker nearly killed you two.”
He points to their ruined van. The cameraman is just getting up with his smashed camera.
“Sorry Miss Moore, but it looks like our broadcast is over.”
Arc turns to Minerva. “Excuse me.”
He walks over to the cameraman.
“Sorry for the rough shove there, fella.”
“Are you kidding?! You save our lives!”
Minerva walks over to the leader who is just coming around.
“Sir? Are you alright?”
He raises his head and slowly stands up. A wicked grin on his face.
“Just fine.”
He roughly grabs Minerva by the front of her blouse, turns her around, and pulls a knife. Xenos calls out.
“He’s got a hostage, sir!”
Arc looks over. “What the…?”
The leader pulls Minerva’s hair to expose her throat. “Playtime is over, hero!”
He puts the knife to her neck and glares at Arc menacingly.
“You don’t know who you’re messing with!”
“S-someone help me!”
Arc turns to the crowd. “Everyone stay back!”
“Do what he says! I’m not playing around here!”
Arc slowly walks toward them. “Let her go.”
Viktor looks over his monitor. “Be careful sir! He’s out of his mind!”
Minerva cries out. “Please don’t hurt me! I’m just a reporter!”
The leader smiles as he hears the sound of motorcycles approaching. “Looks like my boys brought the rest of the gang.”
Arc groans. “You mean there’s more of you losers?!”
“A lot more! You stay right where you are, hero, or the lady gets a new breathing hole!”
Arc frowns as one of the thugs stops in front of the leader and puts Minerva on the bike. As he moves to get on himself Arc quickly reaches forward with his magic to pull the knife out of the leader’s hand. It clatters to the ground in front of Arc. Blinking over to them Arc wraps his arms around Minerva and Blinks her back to the ruined van. The leader growls as he gets on the bike and speeds off.
“You’ll regret this, punk!”
Arc looks down at the trembling woman in his arms as the gang speeds away.
“He’s gone, miss. Did he hurt you?”
Minerva shakes her head silently. The crowd bursts into applause.
“I… th-thank you!”
Viktor breathes a sigh of relief. “I think she’s still in shock, sir.”
Rose nods. “Right. You should get her somewhere warm.”
Hugh chuckles. “And get her a stiff drink.”
Arc puts an arm around Minerva’s shoulder and leads her toward the pizzeria. “This way. Let’s get you out of the cold.”
Minerva nods shakily as most of the crowd follows them. As they enter the pizzeria Roberto peeks out from the kitchen at all the commotion. He is stunned to see so many people. Arc leads Minerva over to a chair.
“You just rest a moment.”
Arc turns to Roberto.
“This young woman has had quite a scare. You have anything to calm her nerves?”
“I’ll bring her a glass of wine, sir.”
Minerva looks over. “M-make it a double!”
Arc looks down at Minerva. “You’ll be okay. I need to get going now.”
Minerva looks confused. “Wait, what?!”
Arc Blinks back into the private dining room. Cherry lets out a sigh of relief as Arc recalls his armor.
“I’m certainly glad that’s over!”
“Me too.”
He quickly heads for the private bathroom and knocks.
“Lily? It’s me.”
The lock clicks and the door slowly opens. Lily emerges, clearly shaken.
“Is… is it over?!”
Arc nods. “Yes. Everything’s fine now.”
“What’s all that noise out there?”
Arc leads her over to their table. “Oh, you see…”
He brings her up to spend on what happened.
“I’m certainly glad you were able to get ahold of your knight friend!”
“Me too. He’s pretty good at what he does.”
“Are you okay, Arc?!”
“Just fine.”
“Are you sure?! You’re a mess!”
“I am?”
Arc looks down to see his dress shirt and pants completely wrinkled and sweaty. He turns back to Lily.
“It was quite a fight.”
“Did they hurt you, Arc?!”
“Never laid a hand on me.”
Lily appears relieved. “Good! I was so worried about you!”
Arc picks up his pizza and takes a bite. “All’s well that ends well.”
There is a knock at the door. Arc walks over and unlocks it to find Roberto standing there.
“Are you two okay in there?”
“Just fine, my friend. But it sounds like you have a bona-fide party going on out there.”
“A white knight chased away the gang! Everyone followed him in here and smelled the food! I’m selling the thug’s order by the slice!”
Lily walks over to join Arc. “I’m glad you’re okay, Roberto!”
Arc nods. “And that business is picking up for you.”
“I hope so. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t have kept the place going much longer. Not without customers.”
Lily nods. “That much I understand.”
Roberto sighs. “I only wish that knight had stuck around long enough for me to properly thank him. But I don’t understand how he knew to come here in the first place.”
“Arc called him.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I guess it was fortunate he was available.”
Roberto smiles. “Well, you tell him that he’s welcome in my restaurant anytime!”
“I’ll pass that on.”
“Please do! Now then, do you two need anything?”
Lily giggles. “How about another pitcher of Coke?”
Arc nods. “Yeah! All that excitement made me thirsty.”
“Coming right up!”
“Thanks!”
Roberto leaves to return to work. Arc closes the door behind him.
“Why don’t you keep eating, Lily? I need to head to the restroom.”
“Too much soda?”
“That and I need to clean myself up a bit.”
Lily sits back down at the table. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Arc heads for the private Bathroom and locks the door. He walks over to the sink and turns on the water and begins washing his face.
“How did I get so messed up from just a bit of exercise?”
Cherry calls out. “Your armor IS pretty tight, Arc.”
“Am I putting on weight?”
“No, but it needs to be that way to prevent it from sloshing around. That’s why your clothes are so wrinkled.”
“Oh really? Then how about my face?! Why is it so dirty?”
“I think you need to give the inside of your helmet a good cleaning.”
Arc sighs. “Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I did that. Remind me tomorrow and I’ll give my whole suit a good scrubbing.”
“I will.”
Arc looks down at his wrinkled and dirty dress shirt. “Good thing it’s kinda dim out there.”
“Lily won’t mind. After all, you saved the day.”
“No. The Hero of Light did that.”
“Which is you, silly!”
“But she doesn’t know that.”
“It’s for the best, Arc. Don’t you think Lily would worry if she found out you were the one fighting bad guys?”
Arc nods as he dries his hands and face. “I suppose you’re right. That reminds me though.”
He touches his earring.
“Arc to Viktor. You boys still there?”
“Yes sir.”
Rose nods. “What can we do for you, Arc?”
“See about doing some research on ‘The Riders’. I’m seeing some similarities to them and the Shards.”
“We’ll get right on it, sir.”
Xenos grins. “Yes! You just have fun on the rest of your date!”
“It’s not a… oh never mind. Just get to work.”
Viktor snickers. “Yes sir!”
“Focus on methods and locations for starters. Arc out.”
Arc touches his earring and puts his hands on the sink as he stares into the mirror.
“Now then, let’s see if we can salvage what’s left of this evening.”
He leaves the bathroom and returns to the table.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
“It’s fine, Arc. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Roberto came by while you were gone. He brought some breadsticks along with that pitcher.”
Arc picks up a slice of pizza and smiles. “He knows what we like.”
Lily looks toward the closed door. “Sounds like business is booming out there.”
Arc glances out the window. “The parking lot is filling up pretty quick as well.”
“Trust me. As a fellow restaurateur, that in and of itself is quite satisfying.”
They finish their meal and sit back.
“That right there is good pizza!”
“Agreed! Shelly and I have tried over the years, but we can’t even come close.”
Arc stands up as he puts some money on the table. “Well then, shall we continue our evening? That is, if you’re still up for it.”
Lily smiles at Arc as she stands and takes his arm. “I am.”
They leave the room and head up to the counter. Every booth and table is filled. Minerva is still where Arc left her. She is enjoying a pizza and a soda though. Cherry speaks to Arc telepathically.
“She looks to be taking it well.”
“Agreed. A reporter’s life is seldom dull it would appear.”
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll shut up and let you get back to your date.”
“Oh no, Cherry! You can talk to me anytime!”
Arc and Lily head for the front counter together. Roberto is busy ringing up sales.
“Thanks for the pizza, Roberto. We left the money on the table.”
“I hope you two enjoyed yourselves! Even with all the commotion!”
Lily smiles. “None of that was your fault, old friend.”
“At least business is booming for you now.
“Here’s to hoping it stays that way! Have a nice evening you two!”
Arc and Lily head back to his Jeep.
“That was certainly an interesting meal.”
“I’ll say!”
Arc starts the vehicle. “I hope you weren’t too scared.”
Lily shakes her head. “Those ruffians weren’t what frightened me.”
Arc turns onto the main road. “Really?”
“I was more worried about what they would do to you, Roberto, and your friend!”
“He’s pretty good at taking care of things like that and getting away unharmed.”
“Yes. After all, he did pretty well at that fire a while back.”
“And all the other little things he does around Angel Grove.”
“Yes, I see him on the news every so often. Minerva Moore has been trying to get him to sit down with her for an interview.”
“ I would imagine she would love that.”
“Why do you suppose he keeps refusing her invitation?”
“He’s a very private individual. Doesn’t like attention or accolades much.”
Lily giggles. “Seeing as he’s a hero with a secret identity I can understand his hesitance. I’d still like to meet and thank him for all he’s done.”
“I passed on your thanks to him the other day.”
“Does he understand that most of us in Angel Grove think highly of him?”
“I’m sure he does.”
“Good. Shelly and I don’t believe a word Guy Smiley says about him!”
“Wait. Guy Smiley?”
Lily nods. “He’s pretty vocal about our local hero being a menace to society.”
“Is he now?”
“You haven’t seen his show? It’s probably the highest rated prime time show around.”
Arc sighs. “I’ve never been much for watching TV.”
“I know. You’re always busy with something.”
“So how big is Guy’s show?”
“He recently went national. People really like his personality! I mean, his show IS pretty good!”
Arc shrugs. “I’ve seen a couple of his episodes, including the first.”
“What did you think? “
“I think… I think he needs to be less critical of those just trying to help.”
Lily nods. “Right. Shelly and I don’t like when he speaks poorly of the Hero of Light. After all, he does what no one else can.”
They are silent for a time as Arc drives.
“So… just what is he anyways? I mean, is he human?”
“Yes. He’s just a… a guy trying to help out.”
“Kinda like you?”
“I suppose.”
“Maybe that’s why he asked for your help. You two have that much in common.”
Arc chuckles. “I suppose we do.”
“Call me paranoid, but I get the feeling we’ll need his help in the future.”
“You mean you and Shelly?”
Lily shakes her head. “No. I mean everyone.”
“Angel Grove?”
“Earth.”
“I doubt that.”
“I hope you’re right. I really do.”
Meanwhile back at the pizzeria, Minerva smiles over a slice of pizza and a Coke as she mutters to herself.
“Who is this hero? Where did he come from? What does he want with us?”
She giggles as she continues to muse to herself.
“And most importantly, does he have a girlfriend…?”